Kiss of Ice

St. James Family, Book 1

By: Lavender Parker

Narrated by: Lynn Barrington

Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

It may be Christmas, but Annata St. James is feeling a distinct lack of holiday cheer. Seven years ago, Annata made a big mistake. She gave in to Christophe Van der Kind, the boss's smug, entitled son, in a moment of weakness. Their one night together has haunted her ever since. She will never forget how good he made her feel... but what happened between them is firmly in the past.

Now, hard-working Annata has her eyes on the prize - to be named CEO of the company she's been loyal to for 14 years. Only one thing stands in her way, and he's 6 foot 3, blond-haired, and blue-eyed. Christophe is back, and he's determined to screw her - in more ways than one!

It's ice-cold outside, but inside, things are heating up as Annata gears up for the fight of her life... little does she know Christophe has no intention of backing down. He wants Annata for himself, and he'll do everything in his power to make it happen....

Contains steamy secret trysts, a globe-trotting BWWM power couple, and a well-earned HEA. For mature listeners only.

©2013 Lavender Parker (P)2014 Lavender Parker

My new favorite enemies-to-lovers couple

I adored this couple and enjoyed Christophe's pursuit of this woman. Their love journey was a wild and enjoyable ride. The prequel book "Breaking the Ice" made me appreciate this couple that much more.

book was decent but the narrator...not so good

the so listenable with many very hot sex scenes. it was just that the narrator stuck to one happy, peppy voice no matter what was going on. It just takes you out of the story.

Great Writing, Perfect Narration... Sexy Story

Annata St. James has worked her tail off to become the CEO of the company she has been with for 14 years. There is only one thing that could mess up her plan. That 'thing' is Christophe Van der Kind, the son of the current CEO. He is a playboy, globetrotting without any responsibility with little to no interest in his father's company, or so it seems.

Annata St. James and Christophe Van der Kind did have one run in seven years ago. They slept together, leaving her confused and annoyed and him feeling empty.

This was an excellent, intriguing and super sexy story. I stayed up much later than I should have listening because I just could not turn it off. Here are a few questions to hopefully, peek your interest. Will Van der Kind curb his wild lifestyle? Will he reach for the helm of his father's business? Will St. James get the promotion that she deserves? What of the former relationship – one night stand – have an effect on them?

Lynn Barrington is fantastic and maneuvers through the cast of characters as only she can do. She also picks the best books to narrate!

This book would DEFINITELY have been on my Wish List, if I knew about it. However, *I was gifted a copy of it in exchange for my review. That being said, it had no bearing on my review. It is an interesting book with the great narrator. I don't know what those who negatively reviewed it were listening to.

I also don't know what the big deal is about it being an interracial couple. It was not the focus of the book but it seems important to a lot of reviewers. I don't understand the different classification or need for pointing it out (as was done in the publishers summary)

Note: Mature themes in strong language
NC-17 would be my rating for this one, for the listening audience

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Started hot ended ...

the story started out really hot and made me want to see what will happen next but half way through Annie became really annoying. She knew how she felt and how the H felt about her but she continued to push him away. I felt it made the H weak because he kept chasing after her even after she consistently berated him and walk all over his feelings. He even had to go to her at the end. Overall I think Annie was the spoiled one and didn't deserve him.

Strong & SEXY BW/WM Romance w/ HEA!

What made the experience of listening to Kiss of Ice the most enjoyable?

I loved how the two main characters, Annata and Christophe, were both two strong willed characters! Most authors don't and make them the opposite to keep things interesting, but Lavender and Lynn definitely made this dynamic work! At the beginning I didn't think that they would ever stop butting heads and that no matter what poor Christy did, he couldn't win for losing, his fault or not! I won't even go into the sexual tension between the two of them, I will say I could feel it from the first moment to the last! :) I really admired Annata for fighting for all she worked so hard to achieve, no matter how much she loved Christy. Thank God Christy was smart enough to know Annata well enough not to push her too hard, even when his father makes him look like the bad guy. I was very impressed that the first book in this series, which could also be read as a stand alone novel, had a happily ever after ending and kept me interested and guessing until the very end. A lot of authors these days cannot achieve one or both of those. Lynn did a wonderful job portraying Lavender's characters and the story line. I felt for both Annata and Christophe and was routing for them the entire time! I can't wait for the next book to come out! I'm sure Toni's story will be just as exciting, seeing some of the drama she caused in this book!

What other book might you compare Kiss of Ice to and why?

This series could be categorized under BW/WM Contemporary Romance, but also Mature or Adult Romance. I was pleasantly surprised that the BW/WM is not over the top, even considering Annata's powerful character. So, even if you don't usually care for the genre, you will enjoy this book (and series) if you like any steamy romance novels!

Have you listened to any of Lynn Barrington’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Lynn's performance in "Kiss of Ice" is as amazing, as in all of her other audiobooks! If anything I would say that she portrayed a strong-willed African American woman flawlessly. If I didn't know better, I never would have guessed she wasn't exactly like the characters she portrayed! If you haven't listened to any of her work you definitely should, or if you are looking for a narrator that can preform from one end of the spectrum to another, while keeping the audience involved and interested, she's your go to narrator!

It's about time!

Would you listen to Kiss of Ice again? Why?

I would definitely listen to Kiss of Ice again, and look forward to the rest of the series. Thank you Lavender for bringing to the romance genre something that I have been looking for: a representation of interracial relations! This is the first romance book that I have read that I recall going there. Yes, African American women are beautiful and desirable and can find love with men of other races.

Who was your favorite character and why?

My heart was lost to Christophe Van der Kind, but I also loooved Annata St. James!

Which scene was your favorite?

The steamy hotel scene in Paris, when Christophe had Annata against the window overlooking the city.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, but I had to restrain myself because this is the only audio book of its series out.

Any additional comments?

Please release the other books in the series for Audible!

Kiss of Ice

The writing is wonderful. I enjoyed the pace of the book up until I DNF. I like a good hot story but to me this was too much sex and not enough story. I did not finish this book. I couldn't feel anything good towards the female main character. She's just bitter & mean and once I thought she might grow up she brought out a joint. This is my first book by this author. Her writing is really good I guess this just wasn't the story for me.

Ummmmmmm......

I really like BWWM books...but, IDK...I got bored kinda quick... I don't like stories where I can't get a feel of the characters right up front... or if the story drags... My attention tends to drag along... so maybe this one is a skip... Hopefully book 2 will be better... I actually haven't given up on the series as of yet... just this couple!

Narration was alright... I have heard better...

Sale or credit this if you are waiting on another book to come out...and there is simple nothing to listen too... then and only then credit this...Otherwise...SALE all the way...

To drawn out!!!! Keep your money/credit

I actually got a refund for this book!! I like the black woman, white man twisted, but damn can Lavender get to the point!! Very weak plot and to much sex and dirty talk!! This book moves very slow I wouldn’t recommend it! The narration was amazing!!! Hats off to Lynn Barrington!